SPLENDOR OF YOGA -- PART -- 18

TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION

Transcendental meditation was taught for the first time in the West about fifty years ago. It soon became very popular around the world because of its many positive effects. This particular meditation technique is independent of local values, religions, faiths and political convictions.

Transcendental Meditation not only improves your ability to focus but it stimulates creativity and works wonders for your physical health. It is proven that those engaged in regular practice of Transcendental Meditation have fewer medical problems than those who are not.

No other meditation technique has been so extensively studied and researched. During transcendental meditation, the brain falls into a theta brain wave pattern (akin to sleep and deep relaxation), which then carries over to the state of wakefulness. Physical benefits include increased mental comprehension, focus, retention and creativity. Another interesting benefit is the actual reversal of the aging process. In a study conducted by the International Journal of Neuroscience, the biological age of practitioners of transcendental meditation was, on average, twelve years younger than their chronological age.
The first three states of this technique of meditation are awakening, dream and dream sleep less. These states are usually the countries that can be achieved in many other meditation techniques, not just one. The fourth state is called the transcendental consciousness, which in time can be maintained that the person practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique goes on his daily life.

The benefits of meditation can be availed of by anyone who decides to practice this art. There are many misconceptions related to meditation such as it is exclusively for people who are on a spiritual search or that it is concerned with focusing or concentrating. Meditation is not concentration, though concentration can be a by-product and benefit of meditation.

The health benefits of meditation are astounding. The simple act of breathing properly in meditation (and the rest of the time, once you develop the habit) massages and relaxes our muscles and organs. This causes the chi to flow more easily through our body, cleansing and rejuvenating it. At deeper levels we can use meditation to focus more energy on specific organs or muscles to help cleanse them of disease and stress.

The benefits of meditation also include getting a handle on your emotions. A lot of the time we let our emotions run our lives, but we need to realize that most of these negative emotions are coming from obsessive thoughts about the future or the past. The past is over and we have no immediate control of the future so people need to learn to be present to get conscious, or in touch with their inner, true self.

BENEFITS OF TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION
FOR MIND
It helps the meditator to achieve better memory, clearer and more orderly thinking, greater creativity and ability to focus, use of your whole brain and its full potential, sharper intellect, higher IQ, better grades, more alertness and expanded consciousness.

FOR BODY It helps relieve stress, attain more energy, better health, lower medical expenses, younger body, better sleep, lower blood pressure, reduced alcohol use. It can make you stop smoking, decrease tension, lower cholesterol and help you live a longer and healthier life.

FOR RELATIONSHIPS It makes you a better person if you have inner calm, more self-confidence, bigger perspective on life, increased tolerance, deeper appreciation for yourself and others. It helps to have the ability to feel better about yourself and enjoy life with less anxiety, anger and depression.